


Fun House

by roseclouds



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Carnival, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Haunted Houses, Keith (Voltron) is a Good Boyfriend, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:09:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27565798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseclouds/pseuds/roseclouds
Summary: Carnival shenanigans prove that Lance might not exactly have the heart of a lion.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 75





	Fun House

Standing at the entrance to a tacky haunted house shouldn’t have scared Lance. It shouldn’t have scared anyone. The glaring red neon sign was head-ache inducing, the wails coming from inside were almost comical, and the skeleton decorations on the door still had their price tags on them.

Keith touched a gentle hand to Lance’s shoulder. “You know, you don’t have to go in there. It’s not like she’ll know.”

Oh, but she would.

Lance and Keith had agreed to meet up with Pidge, Hunk, and Shiro at a local carnival for a fun day out; though fun wasn’t exactly how Lance would have described the day at all.

Aside from snacking on popcorn and watching his boyfriend knock over some cans to win him a stuffed toy, Lance hadn’t done anything particularly exciting at the carnival.

A large chunk of their day had revolved around Pidge’s goal to conquer the most puke-inducing rollercoasters around them. While Shiro and Keith took up the challenge to join her without much protest, Hunk and Lance were adamant in keeping their feet firmly on the ground.

Hunk’s refusal to ride was expected, but no matter how Lance phrased his hesitation, Pidge simply nudged him in the ribs and asked, “you scared?”

Which he wasn’t, of course. It was just that Hunk needed a buddy to stand with while the others were whizzing around through the air. He was just being a good friend! And maybe he got a little nauseous at the thought of being up there with them, but it was probably just because of all the food he’d eaten throughout the day. He was definitely still the dazzling, confident, cool one of the group.

But when Lance faked a stomach ache to avoid even the ferris wheel, his jig was up. Even Hunk was excited to board the slow-moving wheel. Keith seemed reluctant to do the same, though Lance suspected it was because he was certain the ride would bore him to tears more than anything else.

Insisting upon the lie that he wasn’t scared over and over, Lance only dug himself into a deeper hole. “ _Prove it_ ,” Pidge had said.

And so here he was, proving it. His stubbornness had already failed him, and now his inability to back down from a dare was about to fail him even more.

The dare was simple: make it through the haunted house. The others weren’t even going to supervise him, instead heading off to get hotdogs. The exit to the horror attraction was on the other side of the building, and they would be waiting for him to emerge there.

Keith allowed himself a small smirk. “I think your legs are shaking.”

“Shut up and hold my hand.”

Keith didn’t need to be told twice, pulling him gently towards the ticket usher at the entrance. Their free hands were stamped as they consented to whatever violent horrors could be inside, and once the usher was given the all-clear, they were allowed to enter.

The door creaked to a close behind them, engulfing them in darkness. Lance could barely make out the corridor ahead of him, but he was sure someone was standing in it.

“You know they’re only actors, right? They’ll just scream in your face a little and give you a hard time.”

His lips curled into a frown. “You say that like it’s a comfort.” The thought alone that someone might be down there kept him frozen in place.

The room had a metallic scent, and there was grime of all sorts surrounding them. Hands reached out from walls, floorboards creaked where they were standing, and there was a horribly decayed mascot’s costume lying in the nearest corner. Lance couldn’t determine if it was empty or not.

“Well, the exit’s at the other end. You can’t stay here forever.” Lance could see the amusement planted on the other’s face. Keith gave another tug to Lance’s arm, but the boy refused to move.

He stood there in front of the door for a moment longer before he felt a cold hand touch his shoulder; a tap of encouragement, if you will. It took him a second to realize the hand couldn’t have belonged to Keith given the angle at which they were standing. Then, a yelp.

Lance leapt away from whatever had touched him at lightning speed, throwing himself towards his boyfriend who was trying his hardest not to giggle at the sight.

“Told you.” Keith tightened his hold on Lance’s hand.

Lance’s breathing was heavy, his eyes intensely studying the shadows behind them, but whatever had decided to spook him had vanished. His free hand had instinctively clasped itself around Keith’s shirt.

“Come on, tough guy.” Keith nodded his head towards the dark corridor ahead of them. “Let’s get this over with for your sake.”

“I’m—that was a cheap shot,” Lance whined, speaking both to Keith and the shadows. Neither replied.

Keith was able to lead him a few steps forward to the entrance of the corridor before Lance stopped again. Something had banged against the walls of the corridor and Lance jumped with each sound as though he was wired to react to them.

“You’re alright,” Keith assured him with another squeeze of his hand. He peered down the corridor just in front of them. “Just more cheesy sound effects ahead,” he said with a knowing smile.

Lance did his very best to scowl, but at best he made his lips tremble. Why did he choose Keith to be his moral support companion, exactly? Regardless, Lance held his boyfriend even closer as he caught a glimpse of the ghoul who was most definitely at the end of the corridor.

The woman was releasing a series of raspy breaths which Lance could now hear as a result of the ambient music coming to an abrupt stop.

“No way," Lance hissed, "why has it gone quiet?” His voice had undoubtedly hiked up a few octaves. “Oh, _as if_ I’m going down there! She’s gonna jump out and grab me or something!”

“Or something.” Was that a grin? It was almost too dark to tell.

Lance shook his head back and forth. “My legs are gonna give out.”

“Just relax.”

“ _You_ relax.”

A wail echoed off the walls.

“Keith, I _can’t_.”

Keith let out a long breath. “C’mere.” He tugged Lance to his side, hugging an arm around his shoulder. “You walk, I’ll shield.”

The warmth was nice, as was the gesture. Lance was very happy pretending they were back at home, perhaps snuggling on a sofa that didn’t have a ghoul looming over it. Unfortunately, another wail brought him back to his present reality.

“Stupid Pidge,” he muttered.

The pair began to travel down the corridor. They moved slowly at first before Lance shook his head for the hundredth time and picked up his pace, hoping to bypass as many scares as he could.

The woman waiting for them drew closer. Lance snapped his head down, squeezing his eyes shut and finally letting go of Keith’s hand only so he could cover his ears.

She did nothing.

Keith watched her as they stood in uncomfortable silence, waiting. Lance, still doubled over, stayed that way for a moment longer before peeking out of one eye and sheepishly straightening back up. The woman merely turned to look absent-mindedly at a decaying painting on the wall, ignoring the two.

“Oh,” Lance said, letting out a shaky breath once the threat had passed. He craned his neck to catch a good look at the glowing exit sign, the sight prompting him to release the tension he was holding in his shoulders and move toward it.

“You ready to leave after such an obviously terrifying experience?” Keith sniggered. “Did that really rattle your bones?”

Then, Lance actually laughed with him. “Man, I guess that really wasn’t so bad. I must’ve really looked like such an idiot when—”

His was cut off by his own blood-curdling scream; high-pitched enough that it made Keith wince, loud enough to guarantee that Pidge was probably cackling uncontrollably just outside the door.

A giant man whose clothes were covered in buckets of fake blood and whose face was grinning madly had remained unnoticed by the exit until he broke into a run, stopping little short of where Lance stood.

Lance jolted so violently at the sight that his legs did, in fact, give out from underneath him, sending him trembling to the floor despite his intention of escaping. He cowered there, unmoving as he waited for the man to retreat back into the shadows now that he had milked Lance's vocal cords for all they were worth.

When the man did move back, Keith touched a soft hand to Lance's back, earning another small jump from the boy. “Hey, it’s just me. Are you okay?”

Lance took hold of Keith’s closest arm, heaving himself up next to him. He gave a small nod that was interrupted by Keith pulling him close and placing a kiss on his bowed head.

“I think you scared all the ghosts away with that scream,” he said with a smile. “That’s pretty impressive.”

His hand rubbed along the length of Lance’s back, feeling the thumping of his heart through his chest.

“Uh—” Lance cleared his throat. “Could we maybe, you know, _not_ cuddle in the haunted house?” He managed to say as he tried to recompose himself, readjusting his jacket that had slipped down to his elbows during his fright.

“Right,” Keith agreed. “There are better places for that.”

With that, he led Lance towards the exit that was guarded by another one of the attraction’s actors.

“Excuse me,” Keith said casually. The ghoul awkwardly shuffled to the side to avoid Keith’s stare, allowing them to walk out unbothered by what likely would have been yet another scare.

Pidge and the others were not waiting for them as they emerged. Instead, an employee stood before them, congratulating them for surviving the house of horrors. Lance frowned.

Surveying the area, Keith couldn’t catch sight of their group. It wasn’t unlikely for them to have gotten distracted by another nausea-inducing ride; that, or they didn’t care terribly about Lance coming out, only that he had gone in.

Lance wasn’t trembling anymore, just sticking very close to Keith. His cheeks were flushed, though thankfully it seemed that nearby carnival-goers hadn’t heard the commotion inside.

“I don’t wanna hear it,” he mumbled as they made it off the steps of the attraction.

“That your fight or flight response needs some work?” Keith mused. “Sure, sweetheart.”

“I was just trying to make the actors feel good about their performances, you know?” Lance’s stern expression was what really needed work.

Keith chuckled. “So you don’t need me to calm your nerves, then?” He asked, cocking a brow. Lance just punched him playfully in the arm. “Come on," Keith said, "the others can find us later.”

They walked hand in hand to a food stall spinning all colors of cotton candy. Keith didn’t hesitate to buy the stick that Lance was eyeing off, with pink and blue wafts of sugar mixing in together.

Tempted to sit somewhere quiet and away from the crowd, Keith forced himself towards the teacup ride. Spinning only as fast as the ticket-holder decided, and definitely keeping low to the ground, it didn’t seem to intimidate Lance. The string lights around the attraction gave off a warm glow, and the noise of the carnival was easy to ignore once the ride's soft and airy music reached their ears.

They took a seat in an empty teacup that was ornately decorated with sweets and candies, sitting close enough together for Keith to bring his arm around Lance, holding him close.

When the ride began, Lance barely even noticed, nuzzling his head into Keith’s neck. His eyes fluttered open and close when Keith began tracing his finger over and around Lance’s shoulders, sending pleasant tingles down his spine.

Keith’s fingers found their way into Lance’s hair, stroking at his scalp gently, contented as he felt Lance relax into his hold. “Sleepy?” He teased.

“No,” Lance murmured, pulling himself up a little so he could look at the other with heavy-lidded eyes. “Can we go again?” He asked as the spinning cups began to slow.

Keith noticed now that there was a tuft of cotton candy stuck to the tip of Lance’s nose, apparently unbeknownst to Lance. Leaning forward, he kissed it gently off and smiled back at him.

“Of course.”


End file.
